Inter-Agency Platform on Culture for Sustainable Development (IPCSD)

(IPCSD)

The Inter-Agency Platform on Culture for Sustainable Development (IPCSD) was launched by UNESCO in May 2021 to foster structured dialogue and cooperation on culture and sustainable development. The Platform was initiated against the background of an increased, uncontested acknowledgment of culture’s systemic impact on sustainable development, both by Member States themselves, and within the international development community at large, including within the UN system. Building on this momentum, the purpose of the Platform is notably to enhance, monitor and advocate for culture’s transformative agency on sustainable development in the context of delivering on the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Platform is intended as a jointly-owned community of practice, bringing together some 30 international and regional bodies, including UN agencies, regional or sub-regional intergovernmental organisations, as well as development banks. This broad and diverse membership has shaped the working modalities of the Platform towards a transversal, thematic approach, building on jointly identified areas of focus and priorities.

The purpose of international cooperation in the twenty-first century is to achieve a set of vital common goals on which our welfare, and indeed survival, as a human race depend. Notably, we need to improve the protection of the global commons and the provision of a broader set of global public goods, those issues that benefit humanity as a whole and that cannot be managed by any one State or actor alone […] it is high time for Member States, together with other relevant stakeholders, to devise strategies […] through enhanced multilateral governance of global commons and global public goods.

“Our Common Agenda”, Report of the United Nations Secretary-General

Culture should no longer be considered as a policy domain in isolation from other policy areas, but rather as a transversal dimension of public policies. It is our hope that this Inter-Agency platform will promote the mainstreaming of culture within the sustainable development agenda towards 2030 and beyond.

Ernesto Ottone R.Assistant Director-General for Culture of UNESCO

In May 2021, UNESCO launched the Inter-agency Platform on Culture for Sustainable Development (IPCSD) building on its global and specialized mandate in culture.

The platform aims to federate efforts, strengthen collaboration, and maximize coherence of related UN-wide action on harnessing culture’s contribution for sustainable development across the UN System. It also seeks to showcase other international intergovernmental partners that contribute to the same effort.

Whilst the world was experiencing a global health emergency, the United Nations system has been urged to strengthen cooperation across its entities, echoing the purpose and vision of the UN reform, to tackle the multifaceted and long-term impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

UNESCO

Culture underpins all the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Culture has a clear impact on the achievement of critical SDGs notably quality education (SDG 4) through cultural and artistic education in both formal and informal settings as well as technical and vocational education and training in the cultural sector; decent work and economic growth (SDG 8) by supporting job creation in the creative economy; reduced inequalities (SDG 10) by fostering social inclusion within communities including vulnerable groups; sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11) by strengthening the resilience and social fabric of urban areas; or climate action (SDG 13) through innovative and community-based adaptation and mitigation solutions.

Beginning in 2023, the Platform has entered a new phase of work, not only building upstream reflection on the role of culture in sustainable development but also co-designing projects, building capacities and engaging in joint advocacy, capitalising on the unique mandates of each Member. This co-creation phase of work builds on the thematic reflections – on reduced inequalities, dialogue and peace and climate action -during 2021-2022. It is also inspired by the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies – MONDIACULT 2022, which reinvigorates the global dialogue on cultural policies and build a shared, prospective reflection on culture’s contribution to a more sustainable future. The Final Declaration, endorsed by 130 Minister of Culture called for a more prominent role for culture in sustainable development frameworks, including in the post-2030 development agenda as a standalone goal. As discussions in the UN system and the broader international community step up, the work of the Platform will become increasingly pivotal in ensuring that culture has an increasingly significant impact for sustainable development.

Main objectives

Strengthen the relevance, efficiency and cohesiveness of international and regional cooperation strategies and actions in areas that are relevant to culture
Facilitate interagency dialogue, joint actions, and new perspectives on culture and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Federate efforts in supporting countries in their respective policies at the national level to inform and strengthen cultural policies
Strengthen advocacy efforts and on the role of culture for the achievement of the SDGs

Workstreams

In the second biennium of its existence, the work of the Interagency Platform on Culture for Sustainable Development (IPCSD) will be structured around 4 main workstreams have emerged to shape the work of the IPCSD

Culture and human rights

Culture and Environment

Culture in the post-2030 Agenda

The transformational impact of education & culture for resilience and innovation

Event | Culture Beyond Borders

The IPCSD will be organizing a linked event on “Empowering Refugees through Cultural Rights for Inclusion and Resilience” on 12 December 2023 at the Hilton Hotel and Conference Center (Geneva, Switzerland) in the margins of the 2023 Global Refugee Forum.